I just got an e-mail from a friend of mine that attended the 50 year reunion of the Corvette Owners Club of San Diego. They are the oldest continuously active club in the U.S. Because of health concerns, I was not able to make the event. I was a president in the early 1960's.
He still has a '59 that he bought in 1959. And one of the charter member's widow also attended. She still has, and is restoring, her husbands 1957 Aztec Copper FUELIE! How many people still have a 1957 fuelie Corvette they bought new? Maybe one (her).
There were nine other people in attendence that joined in the early 1960's. Although none are still active. The oldest is 84. He just purchased a C-6.
Are there any C-5 members on this forum that belong to that club?

 

Certainly NOT meaning to hijack your thread, but CCDV, Corvette Club of Delaware Valley, (Phila PA) is recognized as the oldest, longest standing, Corvette Club, in the World....

 

I'm with Ellis on this one. I believe that CCDV was started 12/58 and the logo and Gas Cap newsletter were started the same month.

 

I'm with Ellis (YO EL) on this one, and also a member of CCDV. Our club was formed in 1958.

 

I hear you guys. I always thought that COCSD wasn't the oldest either, but at the 35th reunion in 1991, I saw the early organizational papers. They are, indeed, dated in the summer of 1956. I believe one of the documents was a letter to General motors asking to be recognized as a Corvette club. The founding father was Al Carroll. They met in the spring of 1956 at a Chevrolet dealer in National City.
Also, have any of you ever seen the "Corvette Trophy". One was given to each recoginized Corvette club by GM each year. They were to be used in any manner the clubs chose. COCSD had a complex set of points that they used to award this trophy to a member. They were different each year. I have the 1962 trophy.
Have any of you guys got any documention on the CCDV formation. It would be interesting to settle this question once and for all.

 

Hi Mike..
I do believe CCDV does have paperwork from early 1958..or 1957.
If you guys have 1956, then hats off to you all!

Throughout the years, CCDV has been nationally recognized as the 1st established, oldest, & continuest longest running Corvette Club..

If thats an error, we need to clear the air so you guys can get your due
props!

 

That 57 fuelie is worth over $130,000 when fully restored.

 

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the update, if '56 is your founding year then you deserve the recognition.

 

Hats off to you and the oldest club.

 

Not a member of COCSD, but went to several meetings years ago when I bought my first vette, a cherry '88 C4. They always claimed to be formed in 1957.

This is their website: www.cocsd.com

 

Well, it appears we still don't have a consensus on the "oldest club" question. Perhaps a member of COCSD, or CCDV will find some documention to determine which is oldest, and post it for us.
Actually I was only a member from 1961 thru 1966. I sold my '60 fuelie in 1965 and bought a 1964 Shelby AC 289 Cobra. They let me play "tail end Charlie" for about a year on tours and then I moved over to a different club. I was introduced into COCSD by the lady that has the 57 fuelie. My wife and I owned a '56 at the time. Later, in the spring of 1961 we sold it and bought a 1960 full factory competition car. It had all the options available at the time including 290 HP (315) FI, aluminum case 4 speed, quick steering, 5 1/2" wheels (wow!), aluminum radiator, vented and finned metalic brakes w/ finned drums with the "elephant ears" cooling scoops and Honduras Maroon paint. Boy, do I wish I still had that car!

 

Congrats to all the old clubs. Our club was around in '58 as well.
From our website.



Governor Don Schmitt (MW004)


Chicago Corvette Club
March 1958 " Chevrolet is in its 6th model year "

In Chicago, Keith Lais, Corvette owner and salesman at Ferrell Hicks Chevrolet had been surveying other Corvette owners through a variety of means including newspaper ads to determine if enough people were interested in forming a club. On March 21st, twenty-two people became members of the Chicago Corvette Club. The first meeting was held in the salesmen's meeting room, at the Ferrell Hicks dealership, which became the clubs home for some time.

In May of 1958, the Chicago Corvette club held its first gymkhana open to all sports cars in the Chicago area. As the membership increased, concours, rallies, and economy runs were added to the club activities. Social events became popular. Including caravans to St. Louis Corvette assembly plant and the Indy 500 race.

Other Corvette fans followed our initiative, forming clubs nationwide. The Chicago Corvette Club may be the oldest club incorporated in the nation. The Chicago Corvette Club was incorporated on December 23, 1958.

The creation of a national organization of Corvette clubs was inevitable. The Chicago Corvette Club was a key instrument in forming the National Council of Corvette Clubs, ( NCCC in January 1961.) The steering wheel logo was drawn from our club's logo. Jerry Knight (MW004-10) is the artist who originally designed the steering wheel logo for the Chicago Corvette Club. The NCCC copied the logo for its use.

Chicago Corvette Club emphasis changed throughout the years to the desires of its membership. In 1996 the membership had dropped and the club temporarily faded away. In January 1999, some of the old members suffering a "Midlife need for a Corvette," heard that the club was no longer active and destiny breathed life back into the club. Our first meeting brought together twenty Corvette enthusiasts. We have been enjoying social events and bragging rights. We don't know what the future holds, but we are proud to be able to restore MW004

 

Regardless of whose club is older, its nice to hear about car clubs that have survived 50+ years. Congrats to all the members.

 

It would be cool to see a list of the five (5) oldest corvette clubs with their legal incorporation dates.

Ron